Behind the look of a group of timid women one never knows what experiences can be found and in this case business initiatives also.

The Red Roses group explained to me something that I would never have been able to contemplate and that is that, without an infusion of capital, they would not be able to create their own separate business. Without the loan they would continue being employees of someone else, earning a minimum wage which would not give them enough to either begin a career or leave poverty.

Nevertheless, the adult women told me that at the moment of receiving a loan they are touched, but at the same time they feel a little fear because they do not know if they are going to be able repay the debt. It is a very understandable feeling since is a new experience through which they and all the women of their generation are passing. In spite of that, they have already completed five loans with Friendship Bridge.

A detail that leaps to light was that the majority of members of this group worked selling second-hand items. Four clients commented that they went to the city of Guatemala, a trip of approximately four hours, to buy second-hand items in order to sell them in Suchitepequez which is a regional capital that is located to another four hours from the town of Nahuala. The interesting thing about these trips is that the women travel to completely different destinations and therefore compete with people from other cultures that are not theirs. This is something really impressive since traditionally the women are confined inside a native community and do not tend to travel a lot. Another detail that reflects a modernist cut of this group is that ten women among the youths and adults have just bought cell phones.

Two clients will invest their credit in wood to work in carpentry. Two others have a bakery. Others sell and weave clothes. As can be seen in this group one can find a variety of important businesses.

The Red Roses is a group of women that is exploring different roads, so that in some way they can avoid being faced with the saturation of the market by opting for businesses that have not been explored by the remainder of women in their communities. Supporting a group of creative and innovative women is important to promote the development of micro-business and of Guatemala. Thanks for your consideration.

Additional Information

About Friendship Bridge

This loan is administered by Friendship Bridge (FB), a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that empowers thousands of impoverished Guatemalan women through its Microcredit Plus program. The program combines small loans averaging US$350 for four-to-twelve month loan terms with non-formal, participatory education.

As FB clients, women start, expand, or diversify their businesses and learn practical lessons on topics including business, health, and self-esteem. FB’s clients borrow as a group, forming Trust Banks (groups of 7-25 women who serve as co-guarantors of the loan and act as a self-regulating support network).

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.

About Guatemala

A portion of Rosas Rojas Group's $4,100 loan helped a member to buy seond-hand items and clothes for resale, thread for weaving, supplies for a bakery, products for a convenience store, and wood for carpentry.